The first binoculars that I ever used belonged to my grandfather. The were WWII 7x50 US Navy issued binoculars.They seemed to be pretty good quality binoculars at the time I used them. I wondered if anyone knew which manufacturers made binoculars for the US Navy in WWII and of what quality they were for their time. I wish I could look through them now to see if the view impressed me as much as they did when I was 12.
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Who Made World War II Binoculars? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter lvn600
- Start date
I'm pretty sure Bausch & Lomb (now out of the binocular business completely, I believe) was a important supplier to the navy during WWII, though there may have been other manufacturers as well. The optical quality of the navy 7 x 50s was I think excellent for the time; in the interests of tight sealing against the sea air, however, and like all marine porros, they lacked central focusing so they weren't as convenient for birding as they might have been.
I imagine there will be someone along soon with more knowledge on the subject than I have to add to this.
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Pinewood
New York correspondent
Naval binoculars were also made by Spencer Optical in Buffalo. Square D, also known as SARD assembled binoculars in Flushing, not far from the current Shea Stadium.
Heyward and National also supplied naval binoculars. B&L also supplied the Army, and Universal Camera assembled binoculars, generally 6x30, for both the Army, the Marine Corps. and Navy.
see this and this for the army and for the whole site.
Additionally, many prewar binoculars were donated to the Navy.
Happy collecting,
Arthur Pinewood :scribe:
Heyward and National also supplied naval binoculars. B&L also supplied the Army, and Universal Camera assembled binoculars, generally 6x30, for both the Army, the Marine Corps. and Navy.
see this and this for the army and for the whole site.
Additionally, many prewar binoculars were donated to the Navy.
Happy collecting,
Arthur Pinewood :scribe:
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Simon S
Well-known member
Yes, all military binoculars have ocular focusing and with young eyes, setting them at the "0" will give a good focus from a few hundred feet to infinity.
If you have never looked through a clean pair of WW2 bins, you will be amazed at the quality and brightness, even though many had uncoated lenses.
